--- title: "NASA Funds Harvard Hunt for Alien “Technological Civilizations”" description: "A team of Harvard astronomers are collaborating on a new project to scan the skies for signs of technological signatures from alien civilizations. " date: "2020-06-23" modified: "2020-06-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-harvard-hunt-technological-civilizations" categories: - "NASA" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "alien civilizations" - "alien life" - "SETI" --- # NASA Funds Harvard Hunt for Alien “Technological Civilizations” ![A team of Harvard astronomers are collaborating on a new project to scan the skies for signs of technological signatures from alien civilizations. ]() *\Image: chiplanay\* A team of astronomers from Harvard and other institutions are collaborating on a new project to scan the skies for technological signatures from alien civilizations. It's a noteworthy new project, as it's the first to receive a NASA grant for [SETI]()-specific research in more than 30 years, according to [a statement](). "Technosignatures relate to signatures of advanced alien technologies similar to, or perhaps more sophisticated than, what we possess," said Avi Loeb, the chair of the Harvard astronomy department Harvard, in a statement. "Such signatures might include industrial pollution of atmospheres, city lights, photovoltaic cells (solar panels), megastructures, or swarms of satellites." Loeb's collaborators say that the discovery of myriad exoplanets in recent years has the potential to shake up SETI research. "The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence has always faced the challenge of figuring out where to look," said Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, and the primary recipient of the grant, in the statement. "Which stars do you point your telescope at and look for signals?" "Now we know where to look," he added. "We have thousands of exoplanets including planets in the habitable zone where life can form. The game has changed." An initial study will scan the skies for signs of extraterrestrial solar panels and pollutants, according to the team — two possible indicators of the presence of technological activity beyond Earth. "The nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, hosts a habitable planet, Proxima b," explained Loeb. "The planet is thought to be tidally locked with permanent day and night sides. If a civilization wants to illuminate or warm up the night side, they would place photovoltaic cells on the day side and transfer the electric power gained to the night side." By looking for specific wavelengths, the astronomers are hoping they could get a chance of spotting sunlight reflecting off those hypothetical solar panels. Polluting gases in the atmospheres of other planets could also indicate the presence of intelligent life. To Loeb, a different civilization would show "detectable signs of artificially produced molecules," like refrigerant gases we've released into Earth's atmosphere. "The fundamental question we are trying to address is: are we alone?" Loeb pondered. "But I would add to that: even if we are alone right now, were we alone in the past?" **READ MORE:** [Scientists collaborate on new study to search the universe for signs of technological civilizations]() \[Harvard University\] **More on SETI:** *[Experts: China Is Pulling Ahead in Race to Identify Extraterrestrials]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()